The Story of Storyblocks, A Letter From Our Founder

In 2009, I started a stock media company with a single vision: to provide premium creative content that everyone could afford. This idea grew into VideoBlocks, followed by the launch of GraphicStock and AudioBlocks. Now, we’re adding millions of photos to our new image Marketplace and it’s time to bring our expanding libraries together as Storyblocks.

So, what is Storyblocks? Put simply, Storyblocks is your one-stop-shop for high-quality stock media at a fraction of the cost. We’re the same artist-friendly company that we’ve always been, but now we have even more to offer the creative community. With unique video, image, and audio Member Libraries—plus Marketplace content for both footage and photos—all the building blocks for your stories are right here.

I’m blown away by how far we’ve come and it’s thanks to you, our creative community. We began as a small, upstart content platform and now we’ve reached more than 100 million downloads by creators worldwide. Our transformation has been an adventure, and we’re going to keep pushing things even further as Storyblocks—always mindful that when the community wins, we win.

Along with our new name, we have millions of photos in our new image Marketplace. A lot of great change is happening, but our business model is staying the same. Storyblocks members get access to two types of content: 1) The Member Library, where everything is included with your subscription and you can download as much as you want at no extra cost, and 2) Marketplace content, where you can buy directly from artists and save 10% when you want more options. This combination makes Storyblocks a smart way to save on all the stock media you can imagine.

With Marketplace content, contributors get 100% of the sale price from member purchases. We’ve already paid out over $6 million to these artists since launching the video Marketplace two short years ago. The addition of the image Marketplace means even more opportunity to support contributors. We don’t take a cut, so our members save money, while our artists earn more than they do with our competitors. Why? Because we aren’t just about helping the creative community, we are the creative community.

Our license is still simple and straightforward. Anything you download is yours to keep forever—royalty-free. Members can use all of our content for commercial and personal projects. In fact, we just improved the terms of our license to make the creative workflow for members even easier.

We hope you’ll join us as we continue to expand and enhance our products. Storyblocks is all about the future of stock media, and I invite you to be a part of the next chapter!

-Joel, Storyblocks Founder and Executive Chairman

Curious what our new brand means for you? Here are a few quick facts for members.

Q: I have a subscription with one of your services (Videoblocks, GraphicStock, or Audioblocks). Does this mean I now have access to all three?
A: Video, audio, and images are three separate subscriptions based on media type—just like before. You still have access to the same great content libraries you signed up for.

Q: Now that you’re Storyblocks, has my login changed? Where can I access my account?
A: Your username and password information is the same! To log into Storyblocks images (formerly GraphicStock) go to: www.storyblocks.com/stock-image. To log into Videoblocks by Storyblocks, go to www.videoblocks.com. And to log into Audioblocks by Storyblocks, go to www.audioblocks.com.

Q: I am a Videoblocks and/or Audioblocks member. Are they called Storyblocks now?
A: Nothing is changing for your video or audio membership—only GraphicStock is merging entirely into the Storyblocks brand. The one difference is that our video and audio services are now called Videoblocks by Storyblocks and Audioblocks by Storyblocks, and we have fun new logos on the websites!